Review: Beau is Afraid – The funniest nightmare

Directed by Ari Aster
Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Patti LuPone, Amy Ryan, Nathan Lane,

8/10

There’s a lot going on in Beau is Afraid, so there’s plenty to love and a little bit to hate. It’s a mostly riveting, often hilarious, sometimes exhausting, and ultimately very singular, very daring, and very despondent film, that admittedly feels designed to split an audience.

Beau (Joaquin Phoenix) does appear to be afraid, and it may be because he has to visit his mother, the wealthy Mona (Patti LuPone). Things get worse for Beau when he loses his plane ticket and luggage, and has to literally fight his way out of the hell-hole neighbourhood he resides in, filled with naked stabby criminals on the street.

From here, Beau embarks on the strangest adventure. After an accident, he’s taken in by Grace (Amy Ryan) and Roger (Nathan Lane) to recover, and although they seem nice, Beau suspects they’re purposefully trying to stop him from getting to his mother’s.

And the film gets stranger from there. This surrealist fantasy comedy takes place in a world that presents itself as a smorgasbord of reality, fantasy, nightmares, anxieties, dreams and memories. At one point a character feels the need to mention “that wasn’t a dream, that was a memory.” But it doesn’t get confusing and you can just about follow what’s what, as long as you really engage yourself and put thought into which one it is.

There’s certainly a lot to take in in this gigantic and hugely ambitious film, and writer-director Ari Aster doesn’t hold back at all with how painful he presents his themes, such as the fraught relationship between mother and son, and the effect that kind of childhood has one someone right through to adulthood.

This behemoth of a surrealist metaphor-laden film is not for everyone, though it’s especially not for those who don’t even try to understand (or at least feel it). Sure, the film can be demanding, but it’s worth it when you truly engage with the film and get onto its vibe. It plays out a bit like a three hour long Adult Swim show, as it has a cartoonish sensibility to it (there is an animated segment), which certainly makes it exhausting, but also incredibly impressive.

DAVID MORGAN-BROWN